Fruit Salad
by iftheworldwasonfire
Summary: Percy and Thalia's relationship is as diverse as all the fruits in a mouth-watering fruit salad. Perlia.


**p-e-a-r**

I noticed it earlier in the summer, too. That enticing, mouth-watering scent that only presented itself when she-Thalia-was around.

At first it was kind of faint. Just the smell of lilacs mixed with some clean kind of fruit-_pears, that's what it is._ Just pears, smooth and delicate, scent intermingling with the wispy pastel flower. But soon it became more than I could bare, as her hair continuously grew. Her black locks had a habit of growing insanely fast; at the beginning of the summer, they were just brushing her pale shoulders, but now they fall to her mid-back.

As her hair grew, she used more and more of her heavenly shampoo to wash it, and the tresses seemed to trap the scent, letting it out occasionally in enticing wafts.

I can't help myself. I walk towards her and wrap my arms around her tiny waist, burying my head into her soft hair and inhaling the addictive scent.

"What brought this on?" Thalia asks, her voice full of suppressed laughter.

"You just smell...really good," I say, and she kisses me on the cheek.

* * *

**c-a-n-t-e-l-o-p-e**

"Hey! Why do honeydew have to get married at home?"

"...I don't have time for this..."

"Please, Thals? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Pre-"

"Gah! Okay! Why?"

"Because they can't elope! Get it? _Cantelope_?"

"...you're an idiot."

"Yeah, but I'm _your _idiot."

* * *

**c-h-e-r-r-y**

"Urgh! This is so frustrating," I tell Thalia, who sits across from me, a bowl of ripe cherries set on the table in between us. She plucks another perfectly tied cherry stem from her mouth, waving it teasingly in front of my face.

"Guess I'm just better than you," Thalia smirks, and the swipes her tongue across both of her unnaturally bright red lips.

I try to think of a witty or sarcastic comment to make (which would undoubtedly start World War III, or something of that sort) but nothing comes out of my mouth when I open it.

I realize suddenly that she hasn't just tied cherry stems, she's also tied my tongue in knots (and my heart along with it.)

* * *

**l-e-m-o-n**

"So...you two are dating?" Thalia asks, scuffing her shoe against the ground.

"Yep," Annabeth chirps enthusiastically, while I nod, twining my fingers around Annabeth's.

"That's fantastic," Thalia says in a sincere tone that I almost believe, and walks away, but not before I see the sour expression on her face, lips and eyebrows puckered.

* * *

**o-r-a-n-g-e / b-a-n-a-n-a**

"Hey Thalia! Knock-knock!"

"...if I play along, will you leave me alone?"

"...yes..."

"Who's there?"

"Banana."

"Don't _even_ start with me, Fishface."

* * *

**b-l-a-c-k-b-e-r-r-y**

Thalia is kind of like a blackberry, I muse, rolling one of the said fruit in between the pads of my fingers. She's sour and tart on the outside, she makes your lips pucker and your eyes squeeze shut; she's almost unbearable. But the sour taste if fades away to a taste that is almost sweet, a taste that you wish would last forever and a day.

I look at the vivid berry juice that covers my fingertips and then to Thalia, who has the distinct purple coloring on her lips, and I lean forward, our lips meeting as the taste of blackberries invading my mouth. I vow to kiss her until the bittersweet taste finally fades.

* * *

**p-o-m-e-g-r-a-n-a-t-e**

Persephone watches the two demigods, both with hair dark as night, but one with eyes like the summer sky and one with eyes like a stunning tempest. She stares in wrathful jealousy as she sees them popping the vivid seeds of a pomegranate into their mouths, because _they can savor the fruit without a worry in the world-_

But then she sees the loving looks they give each other and smiles, because she remembers that not all things are bad.

* * *

**s-t-r-a-w-b-e-r-r-y**

"I'm so hot," Thalia moans, picking another strawberry and throwing it unceremoniously into the basket she's holding, face flushed.

"Yes, you are," I grin, and sweep my eyes up and down her body, taking in the black tank top, ripped shorts, and worn out converse.

She rolls her eyes and smacks me on the shoulder. "You know, if we weren't dating, you would sound like a total tool."

"I'm aware," I state, and chuck a strawberry playfully at her, which she catches easily and eats. She sighs in contentment as she grabs another couple of strawberries and place them into the basket, which is close to overflowing.

"Of course Chiron had to pick tonight, which might just be the hottest freaking day _ever_, to make a fruit salad for dinner," Thalia grumbles.

"Naturally," I reply matter-of-factly, and look in amusement as Thalia's freckles pop up against the bright splotches of red on her cheeks. While she's turned around, I sneak up behind her and scoop her up bridal style, causing her to shriek and lose her balance. She drops the basket of strawberries and it lays on its side, strawberries spilling out of it.

"Percy!" Thalia says, fingers scrambling for a secure hold.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Rescuing my fair maiden from the unbearable torture of toiling in the scorching sun," I say in a medieval accent, and she throws back her head and laughs as I run out of the strawberry fields, the daughter of Zeus nestled in my arms.

When I reach the lake, I throw her in and she laughs and squeals before grabbing the collar of my shirt and yanking me into the cool water right after her. When we come up for air, I wrap my arms around her and press my lips to hers, and we sink back into the depths of the lake.

* * *

**A/N: Disclaimer: Don't own PJO, wish I did, you know the drill. **

**OHMYGOD. It's actual PERLIA, where they KISS. Finally, bejesus, I wrote Perlia. Took me freaking long enough, haha. This is for summer, because I love a good fruit salad when the sun is hot and the days are long. **

**Review, please!**

**~lilmissf**


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